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Volume 14. Issue 4
Articlee 10

Title
English only? inda kali eh! (not likely!) – Changing the paradigm

Author
Breda O’Hara-Davies 　
Duli Pengiran Muda Al-Muhtadee Billah College, Brunei Darussalam
PhD Candidate University of Technology Sydney
Breda.OHaraDavies@student.uts.edu.au

Bio Data

Breda is based at Duli Pengiran Muda Al-Muhtadee Billah College in Brunei Darussalam.  With over twenty seven years of experience Breda has worked in schools and universities in Malaysia, Thailand, UK and her native Ireland and has taught across the age range.  Her research interests include bilingualism, identity construction, postcolonial contexts and world Englishes.

Abstract
We live in an era of accelerated change and innovation which demands that we adapt and evolve or risk obsolescence and exclusion.  This paper traces the path of English language teaching (ELT) since its inception.  It examines some of the underlying theories that have guided its policies and practices at classroom level.  It also questions whether ELT has kept pace with linguistic and other developments on a wider societal scale.  Using an autoethnographic approach, the paper traces the parallel journey of the author in her role as an English language teacher in Brunei Darussalam.  It aims at providing a reflexive account of the ways in which critical engagement with theory have impacted her attitudes, practices and ongoing evolution as a professional.

Keywords
Brunei Darussalam, English Language Teaching, English Only.